The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage
Opera Company of Philadelphia
Tan Dun’s Tea: A Mirror of Soul
2009 Grantee
$100,000
Opera Company of Philadelphia received $100,000 to present the East Coast premiere of Tan Dun’s Tea: A Mirror of Soul at the Academy of Music. Composed in 2002, Tea uses the elements of the Japanese and Chinese tea ceremonies (water, fire, paper, and ceramic) to tell a tragic love story. Composer Tan Dun will conduct the first two performances, and David Hayes will conduct the remaining three. Bass Kirk Eichelberger will sing the role of the Emporer. The Opera Company will also welcome several artists from the 2007 Sante Fe Opera American premiere: director Amon Miyamoto; soprano Kelly Kaduce; tenor Roger Honeywell; mezzo-soprano Nancy Maultsby; baritone Haijing Fu; and percussionists Haruka Fujii, Chihiro Shibayama, and Yuri Yamashita. Rounding out the cast are nine baritones from the Opera Company of Philadelphia Chorus. Rumi Matsui will design the set and Masatomo Ota the costumes. The project features an artist lecture at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
Formed in 1975, the Opera Company of Philadelphia is committed to delivering outstanding productions of traditional and new repertoire. The Opera Company of Philadelphia is the city’s only professional producer of grand opera. With four main-stage productions each season, the Opera Company makes its home at the regal and historic Academy of Music, America’s oldest opera house. www.operaphilly.com
Kelly Kaduce and Haijing Fu in the Sante Fe Opera Company’s production of Tea, photo by Ken Howard